A new 17-minute video claiming to show 100 of the Nigerian girls recently kidnapped by Islamic militant group Boko Haram has been released.
The footage, obtained by French news agency AFP, sees Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau claim that the girls have converted to Islam and shows a large group of women praying while wearing the full length hijab.
“These girls, these girls you occupy yourselves with… we have indeed liberated them. These girls have become Muslims,” said Shekau.
According to BBC News, the video also shows a number of the girls speaking, with one confirming that they had “not been harmed”. Over 200 girls were kidnapped from Northern Nigeria on 14 April and Shekau has said the girls will be held until all imprisoned militants have been freed. However, a BBC correspondent in Nigeria has revealed that the group now seem “willing to negotiate”.
Boko Haram had previously admitted to kidnapping the girls, saying that they should not have been at school and should get married instead.
Image via BBC News/AFP
